We Know the Big One Is Coming… So Why Aren’t We Ready?

“There’s a gap between knowing what to do and actually doing it — that’s the common sense gap.”
— Steven Eberlein, TEDxPortland talk Why We Do Not Prepare for Earthquakes

In his TEDxPortland talk, Why We Do Not Prepare for Earthquakes, Steven Eberlein tackles a big question: why don’t people prepare for something they know is coming? Even though we understand the risk of a major quake in places like the Pacific Northwest, most of us still haven’t taken simple steps to be ready.

Eberlein uses stories from around the world to make his point — including how some communities that have experienced big quakes pass down preparedness knowledge across generations, and how his own experience witnessing the 2004 tsunami in Sri Lanka showed him the real impact of being caught unprepared.

He suggests that the way we think about earthquake readiness needs to change. Instead of seeing preparedness as a chore, he compares it to “camping wherever you are” — having food, water, plans, and supplies on hand so you can take care of yourself and your loved ones even if infrastructure is down. By sharing our preparedness actions with others and normalizing them in our communities, he says, we can help make readiness a habit instead of an afterthought.